Chad B Collins

Chad B. Collins, a 36-year-old Black man from the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, became one of the many victims of gun violence that plagued the city in 2014. His life was tragically cut short on the evening of Monday, March 10, 2014, in the South Shore neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. The community was left to mourn a man whose death remains an unsolved wound for his loved ones.

The fatal incident unfolded just before 7 p.m. in a retail store located in the 2300 block of East 75th Street. According to authorities, Collins was inside the store when he was shot. Initial reports indicated he was struck in the leg, but an autopsy would later reveal he died from multiple gunshot wounds. The specific details of what transpired inside the store have not been released to the public. First responders rushed Collins to Advocate Christ Medical Center in the nearby suburb of Oak Lawn. Despite emergency medical intervention, his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead at 8:04 p.m.

The night Chad Collins was killed was a particularly violent one across Chicago. His death was the only fatality, but at least nine other people were wounded in separate shootings that spanned from the Far South Side to the Northwest Side. The victims of this citywide wave of violence included teenagers and even a 73-year-old retired Chicago police sergeant who was shot during a home robbery. This context highlights the broader challenge of gun violence that law enforcement and communities were grappling with at the time.

Immediately following the shooting, the Chicago Police Department opened a homicide investigation, with area detectives leading the inquiry. In the initial stages, police stated a belief that the shooting may have been gang-related, though no definitive evidence has been publicly shared to support this theory. No one was taken into custody at the time of the incident, and in the years that have followed, no arrests have been made. The case has grown cold, leaving a lingering sense of injustice and a lack of closure for those who knew Chad.

The South Shore neighborhood, a community on the city's South Side, has historically faced significant challenges with crime and economic hardship. The year 2014 was a difficult one for Chicago as a whole, with hundreds of homicides recorded, each one representing a profound loss for a family and a community. The shooting occurred on a commercial strip of East 75th Street, an area familiar to many local residents, making the public nature of the violence all the more unsettling.

In the absence of official updates, Chad Collins is remembered on websites that memorialize victims of homicide and gun violence. These platforms provide a space for his memory to be honored beyond a case number or a statistic. On one such memorial page, a commenter alluded to the pain of an unsolved case, stating, "No one is perfect and no murder deserves to go unsolved." This sentiment reflects the enduring frustration and sorrow felt by a community that has witnessed too much violence. As of early 2025, the investigation into Chad Collins' murder remains open but inactive, another name on a long list of unsolved homicides in the city.